


Plucked

by SilverHerring



Category: Touhou Project
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-05-21
Updated: 2009-05-21
Packaged: 2020-02-21 14:09:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18703888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverHerring/pseuds/SilverHerring
Summary: It's never healthy to keep things bottled up inside. And also useless.





	Plucked

Title: Plucked  
Fandom: Touhou  
Pairing: Satori/Utsuho  
Rating: PG-13  
Words: 1713  
Timeline: Post-TH11

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Utsuho hesitated in front of the door to her mistress' room, under the multi-colored light from the stained glass windows across the corridor. She had discarded her white cloak, and unequipped the Daisan no Ashi from her right arm. She squirmed a bit around the seal that human priestess had applied on Yatagarasu's core. It felt a bit uncomfortable, but she could manage just fine.  
She took a small breath, and stepped closer.

“Come inside, O-kuu," Satori called from inside the bedroom. "Your heart is as loud as an earthquake from here.”

Utsuho clenched her fist, which had frozen halfway to knocking on the wood. She felt the bravado that drove her all the way up to the door whittling away. Still she pulled herself together, cracking her shoulders, and opened the door to enter.

Satori was sitting on a chair by the window, looking outside through the slightly tinted glass. A young hellcat rested in her lap, purring contentedly under her idle stroking.

Utsuho knew her intent was somewhat accomplished now. Standing in front of her mistress was the same thing as confessing. Nonetheless, she cleared her throat and opened her mouth to speak.

“Tell me, O-kuu... did you have fun with the above-ground dwellers?” Satori asked, without turning to face her.

“E-Eh??” Utsuho's jet-black wings twitched. “Well, uhm...”

“Hmm... yes, you did.” She paused, her hand not leaving her pet's small head. “Those.. boiled eggs must have made a delicious meal.”

“Uh.. y-yeah...” Utsuho swallowed past a suddenly dry throat. “Th-they were good stuff, Satori-sama.”  
“There's something else I'm curious about, though.” Satori continued. “That is, why you came here to talk about the... incident.”

Utsuho widened her eyes in panic, trying hard to find the right words, torn between the desire to get it out of her chest and the helplessness from knowing her mistress could read her like an open book anyway.

The mind-reader slowly got up from her chair, the hellcat hopping down from her lap and quietly taking cover in a corner of the room. “Speak up. I would rather hear it from your voice.” Her gaze narrowed slightly, her voice growing the slightest bit firmer, but enough to make the raven jump. “Or do I have to pry it out of your heart?”

There we go, Utsuho thought. She heaved helplessly through gritted teeth, looking down, as Satori inched towards her. She just couldn't hope to hide anything from her, almost physically trapped in her gaze.

*It's so unfair... it's so unfair...*

“... So that's how it is.” Satori began in a quieter tone, “You couldn't forgive yourself for doing something that might have angered me...”

“N-No...” Utsuho staggered back, cowering.

“You were afraid I would punish you, disown you, drive you away from me...”

“No...”

“And you could never handle that...” She was right in front of her now.

“Please...”

“... Because you realized you always...”

“ **STOP IT!!!** ” Utsuho clutched her own head, shivering wings instinctively wrapping around her frame, so much she felt naked and vulnerable before her mistress. She couldn't even look up to meet her eyes. She felt like they would consume her and leave only bones behind.  
“P-Please... stop it...”

Satori grimaced, looking at her trembling and frightened pet, though her gaze softened. “O-kuu...” She reached up to touch her face.  
Utsuho's head jerked up with a look of fear.

“Listen to me...” Satori's other hand came up reached around Utsuho's head, tilting it so she could look straight in her eyes. “I'm not angered for what happened when you were away from me... rather, I would be if you actually believed I would do any of that.” Her fingers crawled further in the back, stroking her nape. “Answer me... what do I always tell you and O-rin?”

“Uhh...” Utsuho began, finding her voice, somewhat more at ease. “Th-that the most important thing is to trust Satori-sama, no matter what... An...” Her gaze faltered. “And t-to never try to hide anything from you...”

“Yes... that is correct.” Satori leaned in to make Utsuho look straight at her, her pale hands and claret-colored eyes never losing contact with her servant, expressing both affection and dominance at the same time. “And yet, in my absence you plotted your way out of this world, and caused so much trouble to everyone... staying in the furnace deep under the palace, away from me, so that I wouldn't find out..."

Utsuho found herself cringing and shivering again, biting her lip, her conflicting emotions welling up to the point of overflowing.

*This is not how I wanted it... this is not...*

“Why didn't you tell me, O-kuu?...” Satori pressed on, “But even more importantly...” Her eyes tinged with an underlying sadness. “Why didn't you tell me you were...”

This time, it was Satori's turn to lose her voice. Before she could react, Utsuho lunged forward, arms around her mistress' neck, yanking her closer and latching her lips onto hers, kissing frantically. Satori reeled several steps back as the raven assaulted her, succumbing to her impetus and greater physical strenght, feeling her fingers grasping and clawing at her back. Still, as she was recovering from the surprise, a thought flickered in the back of her head.

*Hmm... Should I think of this as the behaviour of a cornered animal?... Or...?...*

Utsuho didn't desist yet, pushing Satori closer and closer to the bed, and onto the mattress' pink bedsheets. She relinquished her mouth, panting heavily, only to travel down her neck, calling her name feverishly under her breath. Satori didn't try to stop her while unsteady hands fumbled with her light-blue dress' buttons.  
“Satori-sama... Satori-sama, Satori-sama... Satori-sama!...”

“O-kuu...”

It was barely a whisper, but it somehow made the raven come down from her rapture, and she jumped away from Satori the moment she realized what she had done.  
She stared in horror at her mistress lying on her bed, actually taken aback from that intense outburst, half-bared chest heaving a little.  
She looked around overcomed with anxiety, shaky hands rising up to her head, fingers digging into her hair.  
“Oh no... Dammit!!... Satori-sama... Satori-sama, I'm so--”

She really didn't expect her mistress' calm, delighted chuckle, as she propped herself up from her lying position.  
“My, my...” Satori smiled charmingly at her visibly bewildered servant. She brushed a stray lock of hair from her cheek. “Such overflowing passion... Seems like it was a befitting choice to put you in charge of the Hell of Blazing Fires.”, she murmured, giggling at her own play on words. “Tell me... How are you feeling now?”  
The dumbfounded Utsuho felt a vivid blush burning her cheeks up. “Ah, uhm... S-Satori-sama, I...”

“O-kuu...” Satori sat up and covered her chest back, regaining most of her noble composure. “Didn't you ask yourself why I never came to inspect your whereabouts.. even when you went missing for so long?”  
Utsuho didn't answer, and she continued. “Because even if you weren't under my watch anymore, I still knew every inch of your heart... I felt confident that no matter what happened, you were still the O-kuu I always knew, and you wouldn't get into any trouble that O-rin or you couldn't handle.” She smiled to herself. “Well, it's true O-rin did a good job at keeping you and herself away from me, so that I wouldn't know...”  
“... Hah.. Haha.. Y-yeah, she did...” The raven gave an uneasy smile, wondering in her head whether she should have felt grateful or mad at her feline friend.

“Nevertheless...” She stood up and calmly walked up to her servant. “When those humans barged in my palace and told me about the disturbance happening both here and there, I got deeply concerned. Wondering how did it get so much worse than I expected...” Her expression grew slightly more forbidding. “I even started to question my own choice to make you my pet and caretaker...”  
Utsuho nervously bit her lip, gripping her arm, trying to keep a steady facade but her wings visibly shivering.  
“But...” Satori added in a softer tone, to which the raven perked her head up. “Now that I got to see the feelings pouring out of your heart, I feel quite relieved. My O-kuu might have strayed from her path, but she's still the girl I know and love... even, I'm glad to know she feels the same way now.” For the first time, the mistress of Chireiden smiled warmly, her look showing no trace of malice or domination. “Welcome back, my dear.”

It took a moment for Utsuho to take her words in, before tears started welling up in her eyes, her self-possession falling to pieces but at the same time feeling the heavy burden lift from her heart.  
“S... S-Satori-sa... ma...” She heaved between hiccups, crumbling to her knees, tears flowing down her cheeks. “Satori-samaaa...”  
“There, there...” The mistress softly whispered, while gently stroking her servant's black hair, giving her time to let her heart gush out the same way her tears were.

“Now, stand up and wipe your eyes, girl...” Satori said after a while, touching Utsuho's cheek in assurance. “If you keep crying like that, I'll feel awful for having scolded you.” She added, her tone faltering a little, sounding the slightest bit sorrowful.  
Utsuho brushed her soaked face on her arm, wobbling back on her feet. She reached out to pull Satori into a tight embrace, to which she reciprocated, pulling her closer so their eyes would meet. Her mistress' look was now alit with fondness and profound love, her cheeks tinged with a slight blush.  
As the raven timidly leaned in for a second kiss, which she didn't refuse, the purple-haired girl could see the joy and relief gushing out of her heart. As well as a small part of her musing that, maybe, deciding on her own accord to bite the bullet and face her mistress was well worth the fright after all.

\---


End file.
